W&L Men's Basketball Notes - Week 3

LAST TIME OUT • W&L 68, SHENANDOAH 63 (11/24/12)
Senior forward J.D. Ey totaled 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Washington and Lee to a 68-63 victory over Shenandoah in the ODAC-opener for both teams. Neither team led by more than five points in the opening half as the Generals (3-1, 1-0 ODAC) committed 16 first-half turnovers that led to 13 more shots by the Hornets (2-3, 0-1 ODAC). First-year forward Andrew Franz gave W&L a 27-22 lead with a layup at the 4:43 mark, but the Generals could not pull away and a three-pointer by SU guard Sharif Almulla cut the W&L lead to just 30-29 at the break. Almulla canned another three-pointer to start the second half, giving the Hornets a 32-30 lead. After an Ey layup tied the lead at 32-32, Shenandoah took its largest lead of the game (35-32) on a triple by forward Shaquille Rodney just 1:32 into the second half. Four straight points from junior forward Jonathan Rice gave the Generals the lead back at 36-35 and the advantage held up until a layup by SU guard Jimi Starks tied the score at 44-44 with 11:40 left to play. The score was tied again at 52-52 with 7:33 left to play before the Generals took the lead for good on an Ey layup at the 7:07 mark for a 54-52 lead. A three-pointer by junior guard Kevin Gill and a three-point play by Ey extended the lead to 63-56 with 3:36 remaining. Shenandoah got no closer than three-points (66-63) the rest of the way as Gill canned three free throws in the final 11 seconds to secure the win. The Generals committed just six turnovers in the second half (22 total) and shot 46.0 percent (23-50) for the game. W&L also held a commanding 47-28 advantage on the boards. Ey was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Javon McDonald, who recorded 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the foul line. Rice and Franz both added nine points, while Gill posted six points, all in the final 3:57, and grabbed seven rebounds. Shenandoah shot just 38.5 percent (25-65) from the floor, but hit 10-of-24 (.417) three-point attempts. Almulla led the Hornets with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from distance, while guard Bryce Mitchell had 10 points.

LAST TIME AGAINST RANDOLPH • RANDOLPH 60, W&L 38 (2/1/12)
Randolph College hit nine second-half three pointers and Washington and Lee hit a season-low 22.0 percent of its field goal attempts in falling, 60-38, last February 1 at the Warner Center to the WildCats. Randolph hit on 9-of-13 shots from deep in the final 20 minutes as it thwarted the Generals' comeback attempt in the second period. The WildCats took a six-point lead (21-15) into the break and quickly extended that to 14 points (31-17) by outscoring Washington and Lee, 6-2, over the first 3:56 of the second half. A triple by forward J.D. Ey brought W&L back to within 11, but guard Mike Ehilegbu drilled a three of his own to put the WildCats back up 14 (34-20) with 14:38 to play. A pair of threes by forward Jeremy Adkins and a free throw by Ey sandwiched around a three by center Chris Battaglia cut the W&L deficit to 10 points (37-27) with 12:42 showing on the clock. However, guard Zach Desgain connected on yet another shot from beyond the arc for Randolph and W&L would get no closer. The Generals missed 10 of their final 13 shots from the floor as Randolph methodically pulled away for the win. The WildCats finished the contest hitting on 48.9 percent (23-47) of their field goal attempts, including 11-of-19 from deep (.579). Conversely, W&L hit on just 11-of-50 shots from the field (.220) in scoring its fewest amount of points in a game since a 69-36 loss to Randolph-Macon on Feb. 16, 2002. The WildCats also held a slight 34-33 edge on the boards, though the Blue and White had a 13-6 advantage on the offensive glass. The Generals were led by Ey, who notched nine points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. Adkins added eight points, and forward Larry Whitaker chipped in seven points and eight rebounds. The Generals' bench shot a combined 1-for-14 from the floor. The WildCats had four players each score 11 points, including guard Colton Hunt, Battaglia, Ehilegbu and Desgain. Forward Dylan Shiflett grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and Hunt added eight boards, four assists and four steals.

SCOUTING RANDOLPH
Randolph is a perfect 3-0 to start the year after winning the Scotty Wood Tip-Off Tournament and securing a home victory over Johnson & Wales. At the Scotty Wood Tournament, the WildCats defeated Arcadia, 69-66, to open the season, and then defeated host Muhlenberg, 70-58. Senior guard Colton Hunt scored 18 points in the championship game and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Hunt leads the team in scoring, averaging 25.0 points per game. He notched a season-high 32 points against Arcadia. It is the second-highest point output by any ODAC player this year. Hunt also leads the team in assists at 3.0 per game, while D.J. Langley is the top rebounder at 4.7 per game. Randolph is averaging 72.0 points per game on 50.7 percent (74-146) shooting. The WildCats' opponents are scoring 59.3 points per game on 38.3 percent (57-149) from the field. Randolph leads the all-time series against the Generals, 5-1. The first meeting took place on January 31, 2009 in Lexington. RC won the contest, 63-60. The WildCats have won the last four games with W&L's only victory over Randolph coming on the road, 64-46, on January 30, 2010. The Wildcats are a perfect 3-0 in the Warner Center with their last victory coming last February 1, 60-38.

THE HEAD GENERAL
Adam Hutchinson (Amherst, '93) is in his 10th season as the head coach at Washington and Lee. He earned his 100th victory at W&L in the season-opening win against Tufts at the John K. Adams Tip-Off Classic. He now has a 102-136 (.429) record, and is the second coach in school history to reach the 100-win plateau. Last season, Hutchinson passed Harry (Cy) Young for second all-time in coaching wins at W&L. The 2008 ODAC Coach of the Year, Hutchinson led his 2009 team to the ODAC Championship game for the first time since 1989. In his 13 seasons of coaching, Hutchinson has an overall record of 135-202 (.401).

WE'VE GOT OUR EY ON YOU
Senior forward J.D. Ey has picked up from where he left off last season, averaging almost a double-double in four games. He is scoring 13.0 points and grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game, highlighted by his 22-point, 12-rebound outburst in the Generals' ODAC-opening win at Shenandoah on Saturday. Ey is a high-effeciency scorer for W&L, shooting 61.1 percent (22-36) from the field, 77.8 percent (7-9) from the charity stripe and 33.3 percent (1-3) from long distance. He is also getting it done on defense with 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. He has the Generals' season-high in blocks (4 vs. Tufts) and steals (3 at Rutgers-Newark). Ey is tied for second in the conference in blocks with three other players. Junior forward Trent Batson of Virginia Wesleyan leads the ODAC at 3.0 blocks per game.

GILL LEADS THE WAY
Junior guard Kevin Gill has punished opposing defenses this season when they have given him an inch of space. He has notched double-digit points in three of the team's four games, including 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the victory at Methodist. The point total tied his career-high. Gill is averaging 13.2 points per game, and doing most of his damage from deep. He is shooting 55.6 percent (10-18) from behind the arc. His hot shooting from long range has carried over to the rest of the team as the Generals shot over 55 percent in three of their four games. W&L is 32-of-63 for 50.8 percent on the season, which is second in the ODAC. Virginia Wesleyan leads the leauge at 55.6 percent and Randolph is third at 44.0 percent.

FRESHMAN FIFTEEN
In just his second game for the Generals, first-year forward Andrew Franz totaled 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the 102-73 victory at Methodist. Playing just 15 minutes, he drained both of his three-point attempts along with one rebound and one assist. Coming off the bench in both halves, Franz sparked a 13-0 spurt in the first and a 17-0 run in the second. In three games this season, Franz is averaging 9.7 points in 13.7 minutes per game. He is shooting 75.0 percent (12-16) from the field and from behind the arc (3-4), and he is connecting at a 66.7 percent (2-3) clip from the foul line. Franz is third in the ODAC in field goal percentage, trailing only sophomore forward David Falk (84.2 percent) of Eastern Mennonite and sophomore forward Cam Anderson (80.0 percent) of Hampden-Sydney.

CLEANING THE GLASS
In four games, Washington and Lee is averaging 40.8 rebounds per game with 11.8 offensive and 29.0 defensive. The Generals are outrebounding the opposition by 11.8 per game. The total rebounding mark ties the Blue & White for fourth in the ODAC. W&L is led by forward J.D. Ey (8.8 per game) and junior forward Jonathan Rice (7.8 per game). Ey is second in the league, while Rice is third. Both Ey and Rice have one double-digit rebounding game and one double-double. Senior wing Andrew Thorne of Eastern Mennonite leads the conference at 9.0 per game.

CENTURY MARK
For the first time in four years, the Generals topped 100 points in a game. In the victory at Methodist, sophomore forward Jim Etling made a layup with 1:18 remaining to put W&L at the century mark. First-year forward John Martin made a layup 16 seconds later to bring the team's final total to 102. Washington and Lee shot 52.6 percent from the floor (40-76), including 61.9 percent from beyond the arc (13-21). It was the first time the team had 13 three's since it connected on 13 against the Monarchs last season at home on December 29, 2011. The last time the Generals eclipsed 100 points was at Emory & Henry on January 23, 2008. W&L defeated the Wasps, 115-106. Forward Greg Bienemann '08 scored 36 points on 16-of-23 shooting and forward Zac White '10 notched 26 points on 12-of-13 from the field. The Generals shot 69.9 percent (51-73) from the floor in claiming their first victory at Emory & Henry in 10 years.

ON THE ROAD
The Generals will get used to riding a bus early this season with seven of their first nine games coming away from the Warner Center. After starting the season with three road games and one neutral-site contest, the Blue & White has its home opener against Randolph on Saturday. W&L will then make a quick trip to Ferrum on December 3. The team returns home on December 5 to face Averett, and ends 2012 at the Daytona Beach Shootout against Bates on December 19 and versus Marymount (Va.) on December 21. The Generals went 6-8 on the road last season and 1-1 in neutral-site contests.

ROOKIES
In the win at Fayetteville over the Monarchs, the Generals played all five first-year players. Along with forward Andrew Franz's career night, guards Franklin Wolfe and Darren Douglas and forwards Jok Asiyo and John Martin played in their first collegiate games. In the stat sheet, Martin scored two points and grabbed two boards, Asiyo recorded one rebound and Douglas had an assist and a turnover.